Mee Krob
Crispy Sticky Tamarind Noodles“Mee krob” translatesliterally to “crispy noodles.” This dish is more like a sweet treat than atraditional noodle dish, and eats like a sweet, savory noodle haystack. It’s anold Thai dish that’s been featured in cookbooks for hundreds of years, and itfound favor in early Thai restaurants in America because it’s so easy to eat.We served it in my family’s restaurant for more than 40 years. The key here isto make sure the oil is hot enough to fry the noodles so they’re light andairy. Think of the noodle nest under Mongolian beef. The sauce is more like asyrup. Remember, fried foods usually get soggy in water-based sauces, but theystay crisp in sugar-based sauces and syrups.
Ingrediënten
- 2 –3 qt 1.9–2.8 L canola or other high-temperature cooking oil to fry noodles, plus 3 tbsp (45 ml) for cooking chicken, divided
- 4 oz 113 g dry rice vermicelli noodles
- ¼ white onion thinly sliced
- 1 chicken breast about 4 oz [113 g], cut into thin slices
- 6 –8 medium shrimp about 4 oz [113 g], peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup 62 g savory baked tofu, cut into 1-inch (3-cm) tiles
- ¼ cup 60 ml tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp 32 g tomato paste or ketchup
- ¼ cup 50 g white sugar
- 1 tbsp 15 ml fish sauce
- 1 tbsp 8 g cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp (30 ml) water to make a slurry
Instructies
- Place a wire rack in a sheet pan.
- Set aside.
- In a large skillet with high sides, heat the 2 to 3 quarts (1.
- 9 to 2.
- 8 L) of oil to 350°F to 375°F (175°C to 190°C).
- When hot, add the dry rice vermicelli in 1-ounce (28-g) batches.
- The vermicelli will fry, almost triple in size, and puff up immediately.
- Turn them over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds until pale yellow and crispy.
- Drain on the wire rack over the sheet pan.
- Repeat with the next three batches of vermicelli.
- You can hold the cooked noodles on a sheet pan until you’re ready to serve.
- In a wok or separate large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of oil over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes until it just starts to smoke.
- Stir in the onion and chicken and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the chicken is seared on the outside but not yet cooked all the way through, and the onions are translucent and light brown.
- Add the shrimp and tofu and continue to stir-fry for about 1 minute, until the shrimp have cooked a little but not all the way through.
- Now push the contents of the wok up against one side to create a hotspot mid-pan to build the tamarind sauce.
- Pour in the tamarind concentrate, tomato paste, sugar and fish sauce.
- Stir as the sauce comes to a boil and cook for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the cornstarch slurry.
- Constantly stir the sauce as it boils and thickens.
- Reduce the heat to low and fold in the noodles, about half at a time, gently folding the noodles together with the sauce and other ingredients in the wok.
- It will feel like too many noodles for the sauce, but it will eventually come together into a sweet, delicious, sticky pile of noodles.
- Serve and eat immediately.
